The Atlanta Falcons cannot seem to get rid of the injury bug that continues to linger around the team. Last season was not kind to them and this year appears to be shaping to be much of the same. This week's injury report was extensive with the wrong kind of names listed on it. As both Roddy White and Julio Jones were limited in practice on a short week, head coach Mike Smith does not believe it is anything to worry about.
The Falcons play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night, giving anyone who is injured a short week to recover. With White and Jones on the injury report, this is not a good thing. This marks the second week in a row that White was on the report. Last week he was limited for a knee injury suffered in the win over the New Orleans Saints. This week it is being reported that he has a hamstring injury bothering him. Falcons' fans likely do not want to hear hamstring and White in the same sentence considering the receiver missed time last season for the same issue.
Jones was listed for an ankle injury although he has not missed any time during the past two games, leading Smith to believe the issue is not serious. Both receivers are expected to be active come Thursday's matchup which is a good thing for the Falcons' offense. Jones told the media last season that he and White could both reach 1,500 yards this season, something quarterback Matt Ryan agreed with. Fantasy owners might be tempted to make roster moves with Harry Dougas and Devin Hester, but the two injuries are not expected to be issues.
One face looking to get off the injury list is Jake Matthews who missed Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals after spraining his ankle in Week 1. The severity of the left tackle's injury was relatively unknown, but the rookie missed practice almost all of last week. He has returned and expects to start against Tampa Bay.
"I hope that I can," Matthews said, via ESPN.com. "We'll see what the coaches allow me to do. But I'm going to go out there and do some stuff, so we'll see how it goes. I'm feeling better. They're doing a really good job with treatments and all that stuff to get me back as soon as possible. It's feeling better every day. I'm excited to see how this week goes for the game. I know they're going to do a good job and get me taped up and ready for the game."
If Matthews does return for Thursday, Gabe Carimi will likely shift back to right tackle. Lamar Holmes could be sent back to the bench after two weeks struggling on the line.
